Fan led Aphex Twin Kickstarter campaign raises $67,424

A Kickstarter campaign which aimed to raise enough money to distribute a lost Aphex Twin album, has managed to accrue over seven times its initial target.

Last month, Aphex Twin fans rallied together in a bid to fund a release of one of the electronic musician's rarest recordings, Caustic Window. Working with Richard D. James' label Rephlex Records and users of the We Are the Music Makers (WATMM) forum, they have managed to total the sum of $67,424 (£39,920.85).

Recorded but never released, and with only a handful of test copies allegedly existing, the campaign was set up to purchase a test pressing of the album from 1994, after "a mysterious seller" listed the album on the music website Discogs for sale. This one, described as unplayed and in mint condition, was listed at a sale price of $13,500 (£8,050).

The project was led by WATMM's administrator, Joyrex, who is not just aiming to pay off the test pressing's seller: WATMM negotiated with Aphex Twin, AKA Richard D James, and his label, and were given permission for a one-off duplication of the tracks for the reduced price of £5,000.

Over 4,000 people donated to the Kickstarter, with backers who paid $16 each now receiving a digital copy of the album, ripped straight from the vinyl in a lossless audio format. Joyrex will reportedly auction the physical test pressing on eBay, splitting the profits to Aphex Twin and Rephlex and as a rebate to the initial fundraisers. The initial reports claimed that part of the money would go towards a charity, but this is not stated on the campaign's page.

"It's a superb way to support the artist by legally purchasing something you will never get to purchase otherwise - Rephlex has no plans and will not press this record commercially," Joyrex wrote. The album will be sent to those who donated in June.

Caustic Window includes 16 tracks, "two of which are not tracks per se," the Kickstarter post reads, "but Richard goofing around with his friends, prank calling them and then recording the results."

Both Phlaps and Cunt appeared previously on compilation releases, and a few songs have been featured during DJ sets and mixes. Outside of the two aforementioned tracks however, none have seen commercial release.